The Question of Affirmative Action/A questão da ação afirmativa

The Question of Affirmative Action

Developments in the fight for and against the implementation of affirmative action policies, like race, appear to going in opposite directions in Brazil and America. In Brazil, the number of universities including affirmative action policies for Afro-Brazilians and Indians continues to increase, while in the United States, the successful defeat of affirmative action policies in Michigan, California and Washington, signal a rising effort to destroy the initiative designed to increase minority representation, particularly African-Americans and Latinos, on American college campuses. I don’t intend to thoroughly consider the arguments in favor and against affirmative action because there already exists much information available. I will only briefly challenge a few common arguments against affirmative action policies.

There are many people that actually agree with the implementation of affirmative action based on class rather than race. The basic argument is that if affirmative action policies are implemented, they should benefit any poor citizen regardless of race. A few years ago, I remember reading a comment written by a white Brazilian who strongly disagreed with affirmative action policies based on race. He argued that he had studied his entire life in order to earn a college education and didn’t think it would be fair that he should lose his place in college to a black student. Enraged by the possibility, he said he would kill a black student if he learned that the student entered the university through affirmative action.

In Brazil, many people continue to believe that racism doesn’t exist, while in America, many people think that racism is no longer a factor in the lives of non-whites. Here is my question. At the root of the “affirmative action should be applied to everyone regardless of race” argument is a certain type of allegiance with poor whites. What is the proof of this? If a person was truly angry that their place in a university was given to someone because of preferential treatment, why would it matter if the person was black or white? If a person supports affirmative action based on social class but not based on race, then it is racism against the non-white that is at the root of the rejection to affirmative action based on race.

The purpose of affirmative action policies is to increase minority representation in mainstream society that is overwhelmingly represented by white people. The face of business, government, media and media representation is and has been overwhelmingly white for many years. If affirmative action was applied to people based on social class rather than race or gender, the face of mainstream society remains white and male. The idea is to increase minority representation and if affirmative action is applied based on social class, it basically defeats the purpose for which it was created. Minorities endure discrimination based on race; poor whites endure discrimination based on class. Countless studies have proven that minorities in both countries endure racial discrimination when they must compete with whites in the job market. In other words, if whites and non-whites have the same qualifications for a prospective job, racial discrimination sometimes eliminates the non-white applicant from consideration.

If affirmative action policies are available for people based on social class rather than race, the whiteness of poor whites who benefit from the system of affirmative action helps the system to remain represented by whites. And that is simply a continuation of the racial hierarchy.

The argument against Affirmative Action in America is useless as long as study after study continues to show that people generally do not look past their prejudice in making decisions and interpersonal communication. Racism and prejudice is so entrenched in American culture that it even exists in the subconscious. People of all colors (but especially whites as they are in the position of privilege) must be vigilant and check their thoughts/words when they feel a certain way about someone because of their skin color.